Unlike most couples, though, they had never kissed. The deeply religious Schenectady couple was saving their first kiss for their wedding day, believing purity is important. They didn’t even hold hands while dating until Nick, a member of the National Guard, spoke with Marissa’s father and was granted permission to court her.

Their story was the subject of a Life 3.0 column in Sunday’s Unwind section in the Times Union at the end of September. The producers at ABC news saw the piece and contacted the couple. Their story — their courtship and saving themselves for marriage in an age in which many people hook up on the first date and shack up after a month — was the kind of thing from which an episode could be made for the program “20/20.”

Within days, the team from the television news magazine was at Nick’s parents’ house, setting up to film the rehearsal dinner in the backyard. The ABC staff was also with Marissa as she got ready the morning of the wedding, and at the wedding itself. The cameras were at the reception, too.

At the end of October — less than a month after the wedding — Nick headed to New York for work. The young soldier was sent to help out with recovery efforts following Superstorm Sandy.

When he returned several weeks later, ABC invited the two of them to the network’s New York studio to be interviewed. This was Marissa’s first visit to the city. Fearing they would get lost if they veered away from the subway, they didn’t do much exploring, but they were impressed by the studio sets (much smaller than they look on television, says Marissa) and their hotel and its room service.

Shortly after they came home from Manhattan, the couple learned that Nick would once again be deployed — this time to the Middle East.

The news was disappointing, but they had known that deployment was a possibility.

“Nick is really all I ever hoped for and more. It was not hard at all to move in together after the wedding as both of us saw it as a team effort,” says Marissa. “We both look forward to spending the rest of our lives together. I know if he is willing to wait this long to kiss a woman for the first time, he has the self-control needed for the long term.”

In December, they found out Marissa is pregnant with their first child.

Marissa and Nick speak often. The outgoing message on her cellphone says “If this is my husband, I’m sorry I missed you and I love you.” When they’re on Skype, the dad-to-be gets to see his wife’s growing waistline.

More than three months after their wedding, they still discuss how their decision to wait was right.

“We are so happy we waited for intimacy for marriage, waiting for the first kiss was just the topping on the cake,” says Marissa. “While the first kiss was a bit awkward, especially in front of over 250 people and news cameras, we got the hang of it by pictures. It just got sweeter and sweeter as the night progressed.”

You can hear their story, and see their first kiss, on Friday on “20/20.” The show airs on ABC (News10 for most of us) at 10 p.m.

Thanks Kristi for the follow up! I don’t watch much TV and never channel 10 so I would have missed the previews for this. I have to admit, when you first rolled this story out I was skeptical but I am glad they are doing so well!! Congratulations to them both, may he return home safely, and hopefully before his baby is born, and congratulations to you Kristi for catching the eye of the national news!

Hey, you know what? Doesn’t work for everyone, I hope it works for them. They sound like a sweet couple, who are really happy, but without any experiences to compare it to….oh well, different strokes for different folks, right?

It still boggles my mind, but to each their own. I hope they overcome their fears of the world and actually get out and have some adventures. If you get excited over room service in NYC…you need to get out a lot more!

Thank you all for the positive comments. Nick and I did a little exploring but our time exploring was limited since we did not get done with the ABC interview till around 1pm. Then we proceeded to take the subway downtown to a hole-in-the wall Italian eatery for lunch, then down to the WTC memorial. Coming back we walked in front of the Macy’s but didn’t attempt going in and stopped at Times Square for a couple hours. By that time it was getting dark and we hurried back to the hotel for dinner and sleep as both of us were exhausted from all the extra walking. Neither of us have smart phones so we wanted to stay a couple blocks from the subway system so as to not get lost.
Our choice was and is certainly not for everyone, and we are not judging anyone by making this choice. However we both feel extremely blessed by the self-control before marriage and have no inhibitions with each other…thus the baby coming that will be due in several months. ;)

This *is* a beautiful story, but it’s not an accident. I’ve known Marissa since she was little, and I know her parents raised her to understand the importance of waiting for marriage, and the commitment it means, “till death do us part.” I’m glad to see she found a young man worthy of her and I’m also thrilled to see she and Nick can set an example in this way. Thanks to the TU for covering this with the respect this couple deserves. I hope to see ABC does the same.

I think the most important thing is to remain excited about life, no matter what you are doing. Some people who have had a wealth of life experiences are miserable and cannot enjoy them, while others in this world who have never left their hometown are the happiest people on Earth. People learn and find meaning in life in different ways.

Part of me was not surprised they are already expecting a baby since birth control was probably not an option with such a religious background, but at the same time, part of me was very surprised. I was surprised because admit it or not, this couple still really doesn’t know each other very well. I would have thought they would have taken this time to really get to learn more about each other and settle into their new life together. Living with someone new isn’t always easy at first. In the first year, you learn a lot about the other person and yourself.

They were together for less than a year before getting married and never had any real alone time while dating. And since being married, they have hardly lived together since he was deployed less than a month into the marriage and now just a few months later, he is deployed again. When he comes home, the baby will either already be born or be due very soon and once babies come along, time alone doesn’t happen too often.

I’m not trying to put them down at all. I just simply don’t understand their relationship and would never have chosen that path for myself, but to each their own. I think it’s great they were able to wait and are happy together and a baby is always a blessing. I wish them all the happiness in the world and a healthy family.

@Mommyof2, Nick and Marissa are Christians but they are simply Presbyterians, pretty mainline. Birth control is certainly allowed.

Nick is a pretty regular guy; military (has traveled the globe), loves good scotch, beer, and a cigar now and then. His bachelor party was held at a cigar parlor. Marissa grew up as a Navy Brat and has also traveled quite a bit. She is independent and has lived on her own for a few years. The best thing about Nick and Marissa is how easily they laugh about themselves with each other. They are deeply religious, which simply means that they are Christians, following Jesus Christ and basing their convictions on something more than just their feelings and experiences.

This was an amazing experience. 20/20 took about 20 hours of footage and cut it down to 10 minutes! I was happy with the end results, and felt that it told their story very accurately given the short time limit.

Shana Druckerman, the producer, was so kind, so sweet, and completely professional. I liked her very much. One thing that particularly interested her was that this decision of Nick’s was a very personal, private decision; it was not a mandate from his dad and me. In fact, we weren’t completely aware of it until they mentioned in July that they had not kissed yet. It was only then that I really comprehended the depth of Nick’s very private decision to save his kiss for the altar.

I’ve no doubt that Nick and Marissa will have rough patches in their marriage. Having a baby very quickly will add pressure. But I have confidence that they will rise to meet challenges and that they will grow and remain committed to each other. They complete each other.

Kristi, thank you so much! You started us down this amazing trail and told our story well! Congratulations on a job well done! Blessings on your marriage as well!

And, by the way, getting a phone call five days before a DIY wedding that 20/20 was coming to cover every moment of the rehearsal/wedding/reception etc… was a, too say the least, overwhelming. My house has never been cleaner. They could have at least mentioned that my house was very clean.

c – yes, they’re afraid of life. That’s why he’s IN THE MILITARY…protecting yours. Have some respect.

Every love story is different, and beautiful. Notice I said ‘love’, not ‘sex’, ‘lust’ or anything of the sorts. They found love before they found physical intimacy. What an amazingly beautiful couple and story.

this is what marriage, and its beauty is all about not the way a marriage is being trashed as all about love………or the stories you see in the newspaper, anyone who trashes this couple does not know what love/happiness are all about. I try and raise my kids to respect woman/girls, or my daughters to have guys respect them…